At my feet there flows a stream­let,
Rippling down­ward to the sea;
Ever roll its bright waves on­ward—
Ever sing­ing songs to me;
As the stream­let’s waves are rip­pling,
Ever down­ward to the sea—
So man­kind is pass­ing swift­ly,
Onward to eter­ni­ty.

Refrain

Ever on­ward, ever on­ward,
As the brook­let to the sea—
Men are pass­ing, com­ing, go­ing,
Swiftly to eter­ni­ty.

Many a wave goes danc­ing by me,
Glittering in the noon­day light,
Like a thou­sand molt­en dia­monds
’Round the bend and out of sight.
Others com­ing, pass­ing, go­ing,
Singing ev­er o’er and o’er,
Just the tones the first wave whis­pered,
When it kissed the peb­bled shore.

Refrain

Ever our wide land is ring­ing,
With a joy­ous, hope­ful song—
But the sing­ers sad­den, van­ish—
Other lips the tones pro­long!
Sun-tipped waves are ever flow­ing,
Onward, down­ward to the sea;
Men are com­ing, pass­ing, go­ing,
Onward to eter­ni­ty.

Refrain